INTRO: Tensions
continue in Asia as North Korea
responds angrily to new United Nations sanctions and the latest U.S./South
Korean military exercises, with threats to attack South
Korea- and America - with nuclear missiles.
This morning, commentator and veteran ABC News diplomatic correspondent Barrie Dunsmore offers
his analysis.

TEXT: The new, inexperienced North Korean leader Kim
Jong-un’s threat to use nuclear weapons against the American homeland can hardly
be brushed aside as the same old North Korean bellicose rhetoric. Yet at the
same time, I see no signs that the national security apparatus of the U.S. government
is in full crisis mode.

There is a long history of North
Korea making belligerent threats to annihilate South Korea
along with the approximately 28,000 American troops still stationed there. Over
the years, the three generations of the Kim dynasty have continued to blame the
“enemy” in Washington for the abject failure of North Korea’s own political and
economic system, often resorting to murder and extortion. Just three years ago,
the North Koreans torpedoed a South Korean naval vessel which went down with 46
sailors aboard.

Yet there is a tangible difference between past such
incidents and what is happening today – namely- North Korea now has nuclear
weapons. Last month, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence,
presented a report to the Senate Intelligence Committee which concluded that North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile
programs pose a “serious threat” to the U.S.
and its allies in Asia.

We know that the Kim regime fired a long range rocket
in December and two months later it detonated underground what it called a
“smaller and lighter” nuclear device. But there is no evidence in the public
domain that the North Koreans actually have been able to “weaponize” their
nuclear device. To do that they would have to make a nuclear warhead small
enough and sufficiently sophisticated to be mounted onto one of their long range
missiles. If they had achieved that capability, the alarm bells in Washington would almost
certainly be a lot louder than they are at the present.

The U.S.
beefed up its presence in annual Korean military exercises with two nuclear
capable B-2 stealth bombers and other high-tech planes and ships. Yet in recent
days the White House has appeared to be trying to ease the growing tensions.
Jay Carney, the White House press secretary said on Monday, “ We are not seeing
changes in the North Korean military posture such as large scale
mobilizations,” He described this is a “disconnect “ between North Korea’s
rhetoric and its actions.

The Kim regime responded by announcing it was going to
restart what was once its main nuclear reactor, which might eventually increase
its nuclear weapons stockpile. And Wednesday the North blocked South Korean
workers from entering a huge industrial zone which is the last remaining symbol
of inter-Korean cooperation - and a crucial money-maker for the North.

North Korea is the last
remaining Stalinist country standing. It is erratic and treacherous. But in the
dangerous world of nuclear politics, it cannot be ignored. What is needed soon
is the right combination of carrot and stick diplomacy in serious negotiations
that have been too long delayed.